All's Fair in Love and Weddings
by UsagiMonster
Summary: Princeton's sister, Adel, is getting married, which means Kate finally gets to meet the parents! What they don't realize is that on this trip they'll learn a lot more about each other, and their relationship will take a turn greater than they ever thought possible. R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Our Lives in One Night

**Chapter 1: Our Lives in One Night**

It was an early Friday evening in late May. The temperature was gradually getting hotter and hotter everyday. Even at sunset, New York City could feel the heat approaching.

Princeton jumped on the subway as fast as he could. It was crowded. Summer was only a few weeks away, and he could feel the heat beginning to make its way into the subway line. The subway doors closed and it began to move on its way. Princeton grabbed a metal pole to hang onto, and he lightly started to bang his forehead on it. He cursed himself for being such an idiot. It happened again. It happened again! Why did this always happen? He was in trouble for sure this time. Kate wasn't going to be pleased. She wasn't before, why on Earth would she be now? He dreaded that he had to face her and tell her once again that, for the third time now, he got fired from his job.

It had been six months since he and Kate Monster got back together after their brief separation, and just four months since they decided to move in together. It wasn't a hard task. Basically, Princeton just moved whatever he could into Kate's apartment, and put everything else away in storage. Princeton knew that it was a good idea in the end. Right now he couldn't imagine himself with anyone else, so he felt pretty lucky to be where he was. It may have sounded all happy and sunshine, but it had its cons as much as it did pros. They sometimes had an occasional fight about stupid little things, which eventually felt normal to them. It all went with living together.

Princeton knew he wasn't getting into a normal fight, though. Kate was going to be pissed for sure. It wasn't that he didn't try, it's just that every place and editorial company he tried working for just didn't seem to meet his standards. It was either harassment, or just no one seemed to give him enough credit, or they were too hard on him. He felt that all these places expected way too much out of him than he expected from himself. Maybe he just wasn't cut for this kind of work.

Kate currently didn't have a job. She was so busy with preparing the Monsterssori School she didn't have time for work. That's one of the reasons they decided to move in together. Princeton was the main source of income for the time being. If he didn't have a job, they were financially in trouble. Sharing the rent made it easier on both of them, but they still had their taxes and bills to pay, and it was not easy with what little money they both had. Now he had to break it to her again that they could be in jeopardy. He tried to tell her earlier that day, but she never picked up the phone.

Kate didn't own a cell phone, so he always had to rely on calling her at home. He had called her earlier, asking her to meet him in front of the Empire State Building later that evening. She didn't answer, so most likely she was working over at the school. Usually she would have been home by now. He began to wonder why she hadn't called him back. Maybe she had already gotten the message and decided to go meet him.

Princeton dialed Kate's number again to see if she would answer. The phone kept ringing, but nothing else came. Instead he was greeted once again by the answering machine. Princeton hung up before there was time to say anything. He hoped that Kate had gotten the message. He knew that it was going to hurt her knowing that he was unemployed once again.

Fuck, he thought. This is not going to end well.

Princeton gulped when he realized the subway was coming to his stop. He was so close to confessing that he was fired for the third time in six months. Getting off the subway, up the stairs, and walking into the crowded Manhattan streets, every step was getting harder and harder to do. His heart began to pound faster as he approached the Empire State Building.

Princeton looked around to see if Kate was there like he asked her to be. It didn't take long. He spotted her right away on the corner of 34th and 5th, waiting for him. She looked out at the busy street, aimlessly looking in all different directions, obviously searching for him. Princeton figured he better get it over with while he could still breathe air. She wasn't going to let him live it down this time for sure.

He approached her from behind; still hesitant about letting her know he was there. He gulped, and decided to make himself known.

"Kate?" he asked. She didn't react, he was obviously too soft. "Kate?!" This time he spoke loud enough to be heard over the noisy crowd.

Kate turned when she heard her name being called. She found Princeton right behind her and looked up at him curiously, wondering why they were here.

"Princeton!" she exclaimed, happy to see him. "Hi!"

"Hi Kate," Princeton said nervously.

"I got your message. I didn't think of calling you back until after I was on the subway."

"Yeah, that's okay. Don't worry about it."

"So, what did you ask me to come all the way out here for?"

"I…" Princeton was still too nervous to say it. He didn't like the idea of lying to her, but he didn't want to say the truth either. He knew that he couldn't keep the secret from her forever, but maybe he could stall her for a little while longer.

"I…" Princeton began again, "I'm… taking you out to dinner tonight, Kate!"

"Beg pardon?" Kate asked with confusion.

"Surprise! I'm treating you to a specialty dinner, on me!" Princeton smiled weirdly at her, trying to seem convincing.

"What's the occasion?" Kate asked with a little suspicion.

"Do I need a reason to treat my girlfriend? Common, let's go!"

Princeton grabbed Kate's hand and began pulling her down the street into the heart of Manhattan. He had no idea where they were going or where he was supposed to take her. Manhattan was one of the most expensive places to eat in New York. It was going to be nearly impossible to find something they could afford.

He looked around, trying to find any place that he could afford without killing his bank account. The sun was gone by now, and it was going to soon be impossible to find anywhere to even sit down at right away.

Then finally they came to a place that didn't look quite as expensive as the ones they had passed. Princeton decided to take this one before he could think to stop himself.

"Here we are!" Princeton announced.

"Here?" Kate asked with shock.

"Yeah… What's wrong? Do you not like it?"

"No it's not that. It just looks a little out of our prince range…"

"Don't worry about that, Kate! This is my treat! You deserve it!"

Princeton felt bad telling her all this. Of course she deserved it, but he wasn't sure if they were going to be okay affording it. Kate, unknowing, felt flattered by all this attention he was giving her, but was still hesitant about this whole arrangement.

All the same, they entered the fancy place and approached the waiter's podium.

"How many?" the waiter asked when he noticed them.

"Two, please," Princeton said.

"Right this way."

The waiter showed them to a two-seater table in the middle of the restaurant.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" the waiter asked once they were seated.

"I'll have a beer," Princeton said. He knew he needed it.

"And you ma'am?" the waiter said, turning to Kate.

Kate noticed a drink that a woman had at another table.

"Ice tea, please," she answered, pointing to the drink.

"Alright, I'll be back in a minute with your drinks."

"Princeton, are you sure it's okay to eat here?" Kate asked as the waiter walked away. "This looks kind of expensive."

"Kate, don't worry about it," Princeton replied. "We both deserve a break. It's been too long since we treated ourselves. Trust me."

"Princeton, I trust you, I just don't know if I trust your bank account and all of our bills."

"Kate, I promise, it's all taken care of. You don't have to worry about it."

Kate sighed at how modest Princeton was being. It had been so long since they went our like this, just the two of them. She was used to spending her Friday evenings with everyone on the Q at a bar somewhere, socializing and watching the men get drunk. It was so sweet that Princeton thought to take her out.

A minute later their drinks arrived. Kate took a sip from her straw.

"Mm, that's yummy!" she exclaimed.

"Glad you enjoy it, ma'am," their waiter said. "Now what can I get you to eat?"

For a good half hour Princeton and Kate talked and laughed while they waited for their food. By the time the food arrived, Kate had already gone through a second round with her drink.

"Kate do you like your food?" Princeton asked.

"Mmmm… this is, like, probably the most orgasmic stuff I've had in a loooooong time," Kate replied rather loudly.

"W-What?" Princeton asked, suddenly startled by this comment.

"You heard me! Oh, I think I need another one of these teas, they're tasty!" Kate said while shaking her glass in the air. "Waiter, get me another one of these, please!"

"Kate, are you okay?" Princeton asked, a little worried.

"I… am more than okay! I am GREAT!" Kate said, almost yelling.

Princeton suddenly realized that she wasn't being herself. He looked at her drinking glasses and saw that her second tea was almost completely gone.

"Waiter," Princeton called, "I think there's alcohol in my girlfriend's drink."

"Well of course," the waiter replied, "a Long Island Ice Tea is what she ordered, right sir?"

Oh shit, Princeton thought. This is exactly what got them in trouble the first time they went out. Kate could take a little alcohol but Long Island Ice Teas were just too much for her.

"Woo! Is it hot in here? I think I need to get a little cooler," Kate said as she reached for the bottom of her shirt.

"Kate cut that out!" Princeton replied as he stopped her from lifting her shirt.

"Aw, you don't like seeing me naked anymore, do you?!"

"No, it's not that all! I… uh, you're drunk right now."

"Oh Princeton, I'm not drunk! If I was drunk would I be able to stand up?"

Kate stood up was about to take a step, but immediately fell to the floor with a loud thump.

"Ow, maybe I am drunk," Kate said from the floor.

Princeton buried his face in his hands and shook his head. Some of the other customers were starting to watch. Already the night was going bad. Could it possibly get any worse?

"Princeton, you have the cutest butt! I could just watch it all day!" Kate replied in her drunken state, still on the floor.

"What the hell?!" Princeton was starting get humiliated. They needed to leave right now. With embarrassment, shaking, he called out, "Waiter, uh… check please!"

Once the bill was paid, he was able to help Kate get off the floor. When they got out of the restaurant, Princeton could only pray that getting home with a drunk girlfriend hanging off his shoulder would be easier than it sounded. Unfortunately, it wasn't. On the way there, he was stopped by cops three times, then had to somehow prove that they were together and that he was safely taking her home. Kate even almost insulted an officer, but they were able to avoid it. Not only that, but on the subway Princeton had to stop Kate countless times from putting her hand down his pants. It was hell. It was like being around a three-year-old. When they finally reached Kate's apartment, Princeton had a splitting headache from the day's events.

"Princeton, I wanna go somewhere!" Kate said happily as she sat on the bed.

"No, no going anywhere for you Missy," Princeton said as if he was speaking to a child. "I have a headache and it's all-your-fault!"

"Oh, you need to loosen up! Common, just loosen up everything! Let's go out tonight!"

"No thank you…"

"Hey that's a song, isn't? I'm gonna sing it for you!"

"Please, don't."

"What's the time? Well it's gotta be close to midnight!"

As Kate stood on the bed and sang the RENT song at the top of her lungs, she began taking off her coat, and then her skirt. Princeton couldn't take it and walked out of the room and into the kitchen, leaving her behind. This was one fucking bad night gone completely wrong. It was supposed to be just a nice, normal romantic evening, just like he knew she liked it. After dinner a walk through Central Park would have been perfect. Then he could break the news to her and it would be over. But no, Kate had to get a wrong drink order and now everything was ruined. Princeton reached for some Tylenol on the counter and swallowed it down with some water. Kate's screeching singing voice still echoed from the bedroom. There was just no stopping her.

Princeton began to worry about the outcome of the next day. Not only did he have to break it to her that he was fired, but now he had to tell her that she had gotten dead drunk in the middle of a fancy restaurant and humiliated them both. All he tried to do this evening was make everything work out better, but it didn't.

Princeton decided to go back to the bedroom before Kate ended up hurting herself. He turned the lights out in the kitchen, thinking he wouldn't be coming back for the rest of the night. Princeton entered the bedroom again, greeted by Kate's singing all over again.

"Take me ooooouuuuuuuuuut tonight!" she sang loudly. She stood on the bed wearing nothing but her plain bra and underwear, with one of her bra straps falling off. She swung her shirt in the air like a whip. As hot as she looked dancing around like that, it wasn't the right time or mood to be encouraging it.

"Kate, please stop! I have a headache!" Princeton yelled.

"Oh, Princeton," Kate said, sitting on the bed, "I'm just getting started! You should join me."

Kate tugged on Princeton's sleeve and urged him to come onto the bed with her. He followed, naturally, not knowing what else to do. She lay him down so his back, relaxing his head on the pillow. She kissed him and began to tug at his shirt, but Princeton stopped her immediately.

"Kate, we can't do this," he said seriously, looking in her eyes.

"Aw, why not?" Kate asked with a pout.

"Because you're drunk, and it wouldn't be right."

"Princeton, haven't we been over this? I am not drunk!"

"Yes, you are. I'm sorry but I just can't."

"Aw…" Kate complained. She lay her head on his chest and snuggled her furry body closely into him. Princeton was able to allow this. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and just let her lay on him for a while. Princeton stared at the ceiling and waited for something, anything to happen.

"Princeton," Kate said after a long silence, "do you love me?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"I need to know. Do you love me?"

"Of course I do."

"Oh. Well, I love you too."

"Why did you ask?"

"Just wondering…"

Princeton frowned and continued staring at the ceiling. Was she okay? Was it possible she was finally sober?

"Kate?" Princeton asked. He listened but didn't get an answer. "Kate?"

Princeton looked down to find Kate's eyes were now closed. She had fallen asleep in his arms. The ruckus she made must have worn her out. Princeton let out a huge sigh, feeling relieved. He gently moved her off of him, careful not to wake her up. She now lay next to him, oblivious to everything that happened in the past hour. Princeton sat up and looked at Kate's sleeping face. She looked so peaceful and innocent lying there.

Innocent, yeah right, Princeton thought with a chuckle.

"You drive me so crazy sometimes, but I love you," he said out loud.

Princeton sat up and got off the bed. He yawned and suddenly realized how tired he had become. He decided it was time to hit the sack and be done for the night. It was well after midnight, and the only way his headache was going to get any better was by getting some proper rest. He got himself ready for sleep, and moved Kate, still in her underwear, under the covers before he crawled into bed beside her

Once the lights were out, Princeton looked over at Kate one more time with whatever light was left from outside the window. She continued to sleep next to him, comfortable and warm under the sheets. She had no idea what she had put him through, and no idea of the news she would have to receive tomorrow morning.

Princeton sighed again. He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead, adoring how lovely and precious she really was to him.

"I love you," he repeated. Then he lay his head back on the pillow, closed his eyes, and let sleep take over.

A/N: I had this idea in my head forever, but now it's finally coming to life. I first must say that I am in love with this show, and I am in love with the relationship Kate Monster and Princeton share. There are definitely not enough Avenue Q fics in the universe, so here's an edition to the small collection. I'll probably have a chapter up every two or so weeks. Please understand that I am in college and that it may take some patience, but I am really dedicated to finishing this fic. I hope you have enjoyed the first chapter, the second one is coming very soon! Reviews are always welcome!


	2. Chapter 2: Phone Calls

**Chapter 2: Phone Calls**

The buzzing alarm went off and rang through Princeton's ears. He opened his eyes and his first instinct was to turn that annoying sound off. He reached over, with his eyes half open, and pressed the button on the digital clock that finally brought silence. He let his eyes adjust a little more to the sunlight coming from the window before letting himself realize where he was. Once it was quiet again, he looked at the clock that read 9:00AM in red, digital numbers. Princeton grumbled. They usually got up at this time on weekends, even if they had spent hours out the night before. Kate must have set the clock the morning before so that they didn't forget, but Princeton didn't think there was going to be any reason to get up at this hour today.

He turned around to see if Kate had woken up yet. She faced away from him now, but she didn't look like she had moved in the past few minutes. Princeton stared at her furry back and pondered whether he should disturb her or not. Maybe she felt the same as him and didn't want to face the day yet. He couldn't blame her. She probably had a hangover by now after drinking those Long Island Ice Teas last night.

Princeton decided that Kate had been facing away for long enough. He tugged at her shoulder and turned her over so that she was now facing him and in his arms. He planted a kiss on her cheek before greeting her. "Hey, good morning," he replied just over a whisper.

"Mmm," Kate mumbled as she cuddled closer into Princeton's body. He then saw that her eyes were still closed, and within a few second felt her fall asleep again in his arms.

Princeton thought of joining her. It was Saturday, and they had had a crazy night. It wouldn't hurt to get a few more hours of sleep. He held Kate's body close before he felt his heavy eye lids begin to close.

A short while later, both Princeton and Kate were awaken by surprise by the loud ringing of the phone on the bedside. Princeton rubbed his eyes and quickly adjusted to the bright sunlight. He looked at the clock again. 9:43AM. It hadn't even been an hour since the alarm went off, all because of some idiot calling.

"You've got to be kidding me," Princeton mumbled.

"Princeton, what time is it?" Kate asked groggily, also trying to adjust to the sunlight.

"9:43," he answered as he reached over to the nightstand on Kate's side of the bed to answer the phone. "I got it… Hello, Kate Monster's apartment?"

"Princeton?!?" a woman's high pitched voice shrieked from the other line.

"Yes?" Princeton asked, surprised.

"Princeton, it's me, Adel!" the voice exclaimed.

"Adel?" Princeton asked, his eyes now wide open.

"Yeah! Oh my God it has been too long! Hey, who's this Kate person? Are you living with someone?!"

"I… Adel how did you get this number?" Princeton asked as he sat up.

"Never mind about that! Princeton, oh my God, guess what? I'm engaged!!"

"You're what?!"

"Oh my God, Charles, he's this really nice guy you'll love him! He proposed to me! It is so happening!! I'm getting married in three weeks!"

"Three weeks, isn't that kind of soon?"

"Oh, well, we thought it would take a while, but we have some time off soon and we thought, why not now? It's perfect with summer just around the corner and everything! It's going to be so perfect! You need to come! Of course you need to come! And bring that Kate person with you! I'll let you know all the details real soon!"

"But I-"

"Bye now see you in three weeks!"

Before Princeton could try and stop her, Adel hung up the phone on the other line. Princeton lowered the phone in his hand, not quite knowing what just happened.

"Adel? Who's Adel?" Kate, who had been listening to the conversation, asked with a little annoyance.

Princeton turned to his girlfriend next to him, and prepared to release the worst.

"She's… my sister," he said hesitantly.

Kate's eyebrows rose when she hear this. "Your sister? Ow!"

Kate grabbed her head when she suddenly noticed the humongous headache she was having. She lay back on the bed and cringed. It felt like her brain was pulsing from inside her skull.

"What the hell? Why does my head hurt so much?" she asked.

Princeton then remembered everything from last night. He got fired from the job. He was planning to tell her, but he took her out to dinner instead and accidentally got her drunk. He didn't get the chance to tell her anything, and now, it was probably time he started talking.

He nervously supported himself next to Kate. She turned to him, searching for answers. Princeton gulped, now was the time.

"Kate," he began, "there's something you need to know…"

"I did what?!" Kate asked in shock, slamming her coffee mug on he kitchen table. She was now dressed in a pink robe, which was a huge relief to the chilly morning.

God dammit, Princeton thought as he shuffled some scrabbled eggs in the frying pan on the stove. "Yeah, and then I had to drag you home, which took forever," he said. "Then, you basically got half naked and danced around the bedroom, tried to seduce me… and then you fell asleep after that."

Kate stared in a dazed, shocked. "I don't believe any of this," she replied, "and I tried to seduce you?"

"Well, yeah," Princeton said awkwardly, "but I really couldn't let you do anything because you were drunk and how stupid would that have been?"

Kate looked up at Princeton and thought about what he just said.

"Do you want another painkiller?" he asked.

"No, I'm okay," Kate answered. She could feel her hangover begin to die down slightly. She held her hand to her forehead, hoping it would go away faster.

Princeton finished the eggs and began dividing them onto two plates on the counter, along with some sausage and toast.

"Here you go," he said, placing a plate on the table in front Kate. He kissed the top of her head, comforting her, before he sat down opposite of her.

"Thank you," Kate said gratefully. She took a bite of her eggs before continuing. "So, you have a sister you never told me about."

Princeton stopped. "Yeah," he said.

"Come to think of it, Princeton, I don't think you've said much about your family until now, have you?"

"Maybe…" Princeton was avoiding her eye contact.

"Well, how come you never talk about your family?"

"I guess, because… we don't get along very well."

"What? What do you mean?"

Princeton didn't see a reason to hide anything. He sighed deeply and ran his hand through his jet-black hair before continuing.

"Kate, the truth is, well, to start off my mom has always been a little controlling of my life. She was always on me about my grades, and she said the only way they would pay for college is if I got into a really nice, high-class expensive college. So, I got into one, went there for four years, got a BA in English, which the only thing I found relatively interesting at that college…"

"Go on," Kate said, curiously learning all of this new information.

"Well, after that my mom said I should go to law school. Well, I said fuck that and I guess I kind of ran off to New York when I had a chance before any one of them could stop me. I moved far away so I could finally start running my own life without my parents controlling me all the time."

"But… you're from New Jersey," Kate stated, "That's not that far away."

"It doesn't matter! It's as far away as I could get. I had to find a place to rent, you know. I mean, my parents had some money they had saved for me, but after that they said they weren't going to pay for anything or help out if I had any financial problems, but I honestly didn't care. I don't like the idea of living off my parents anyway."

Kate nodded, knowing he was right, "That's understandable. How about your dad? What's he like?"

"Don't even get me started," Princeton said with a huff. "Let's just say that living with him for so long, he embarrassed me everyday like there was no tomorrow."

Kate raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked, half surprised and half amused.

"Yeah," Princeton continued. "Like, uh… Okay, on my twelfth birthday, he put together a whole slideshow of photos that basically outlined my life up to that point to show to my friends. I mean, can you imagine my dad going 'this is Princeton at one… this is Princeton at two… this is Princeton at five learning to use a toothbrush… on his nose'?"

Kate suddenly burst out laughing when she heard this, which made Princeton furious.

"It's not funny," he said with rage. "It took me weeks until I was finally brave enough to invite friends over again!"

"Oh, God," Kate said, whipping the tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. "A toothbrush on your nose? What's that all about?"

"Hey, if you tell anyone about that, I'll never talk to you again!"

Kate only laughed again at this, making Princeton even angrier.

"Oh, common Princeton," Kate replied, "Your dad probably only did that because he loves you."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Princeton grumbled.

Kate shook her head and whipped away her remaining tears.

"Well, what about your sister," she continued, "do you get along with her?"

"Well, you could say I try to avoid her as much as I can. I mean, she was always into politics and law and all that stuff. She had good grades as was always top of whatever she did. Kind of the opposite of me. Plus, she's kind of a nutcase."

"A nutcase?"

"You would know what I meant if you met her."

Princeton took a final bite of his food. Kate watched and wondered what was going through his head. Princeton never said much about his family until now. What did this mean now that he was being invited to come home?

"So, are you going to go to the wedding?" Kate asked.

Princeton looked at Kate and shook his head. "I don't think so," he replied.

"What? Why not?!"

"I told you, I don't want to see them. Besides, Adel's probably just marrying the first guy who ever proposed to her in her life. Knowing her I can't imagine it's going to last very long."

"Princeton, how can you say that?! I think you're being a little too judgmental."

"I am not!" Princeton picked up his plate and set it in the sink. "You didn't have to put up with them for twenty two years of your life. You don't even know them."

"From what I'm hearing, it sounds like you don't either. They're your family, you should at least support your own sister's decision to get married."

"I am not going to my sister's wedding, and that is final!" Princeton replied.

As soon as he said this, the phone rang for the second time that day. The phone in the kitchen was conveniently right next to Princeton on the counter. He picked it up and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"You are going to your sister's wedding, Princeton," a woman's voice replied on the other end, almost as if she had been listening to their conversation. This startled Princeton at first, but he recognized the voice instantly, and it was no surprise they knew he was not planning to come.

"Oh, hi, Mom," Princeton replied.

"Hi, Sweetie," his mother answered back. "Long time no see."

"Yeah… really. Long time…" Princeton said with a grunt. "We were just talking about you."

"We? Who's we?"

"Oh… I mean, Adel! She called not too long ago." Princeton was obviously trying to avoid the fact he was with Kate. Kate gave him a questioned look.

"Oh, I see," Princeton's mother continued. "Princeton, listen to me. You need to come, and this is your sister's wedding! It would mean so much to her if you came." She didn't sound demanding or mad, more like trying to be persuasive.

"I don't know, Mom…" Princeton said, nervously.

"Princeton, you have already missed visiting us for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, your father's birthday, Easter, and, may I remind you that Mothers Day is tomorrow, and I don't think you're going to be here for that either. Don't tell me you are going to also miss the most important day of you're sister's life!"

Princeton did not know how to respond to this. Deep down he didn't really care that he had missed all of those events, but at the same time it probably made him look like a bad person.

"Princeton," his mother continued, "if it's a matter of money you need, we'll pay for train tickets, but I am expecting to see you here in three weeks, and we will need you here for the whole weekend. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever, I'll come," Princeton gave in hesitantly.

"Thank you. Well, now that that's over, I need to go help Adel pick out a wedding dress. We'll send you an invitation soon, okay?"

"Alright, fine."

"See you soon…"

The receiver went dead. Princeton solemnly hung the phone up. From what Kate heard from him, she wasn't sure she liked everything she heard. She crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"Well, are you going?" she asked.

"No," he replied, embarrassed. "She wants me there for a weekend, but I know I won't even be able to last a minute there."

Kate sighed. He lied to them. "Princeton, do they know that you're living with me?"

"No," Princeton said again. "I told them I changed locations because the plumbing was always backing up. My mom would freak if she found out I was living with someone."

Kate frowned at this statement. There was nothing but lies coming from his mouth. "Do you always lie to your family like that?"

"Kate, it's not like I have a choice! I can't get away from her control unless she hears what she wants to hear. If she found out, she would probably come here herself and think of any excuse to get me to leave."

"I still think it's wrong. I wish you would tell her the truth. It would make me feel a lot better about you living here."

Princeton sighed. "I'll tell her, just give me a little time."

The two were quiet for a couple of seconds, until Princeton decided that maybe he should tell her about the rest of yesterday before it got too late.

"Kate," he began, "um, I know this is probably not the best time to say it, but… I took you out to dinner yesterday because I… I was going to tell you that I got fired from my job…"

Princeton stopped and cringed, knowing that there was going to be a lot of yelling for the rest of the day. He waited, but he didn't hear anything. Kate didn't say a word. Did she even hear him? He opened his eyes and saw Kate sitting at the same spot at the table as before, staring at him blankly.

"What?" she asked.

"Aren't you going to yell at me?" Princeton asked.

Kate looked down. She was tired of it. More secrets. More lies. That's all she had been hearing all morning.

"Well, there's not much of a point, is there?" she asked in disappointment.

Princeton's heart suddenly sank about twenty thousand leagues when he heard this. He realized that this was a hundred times worse than getting yelled at. A huge rush of guilt was running through him. He felt like the most undependable boyfriend in the world just from this comment. Maybe after the drinking, the lying, getting fired, everything that happened this morning and last night, he felt more embarrassed than guilty. Had it come to the point where she just expected the worst out of him now?

Kate didn't say anything else after this, keeping the room awkwardly quiet and cold. Princeton didn't know what to say or do.

"Um… I think I'm gonna take a shower," Princeton replied. Maybe this way he could avoid the awkwardness.

"Fine, go ahead," Kate said, sadly. She picked up her plate and brought it to the sink in an attempt to throw the rest of her food away. She didn't want to eat anymore. She had lost her appetite. Princeton didn't move and watched her, wondering if she was going to be alright.

Kate turned the sink on and pushed the remains of her food down the drain, then set her plate in the sink. She stood there and watched the water continue to collect and overflow on the plate.

Princeton saw that Kate hadn't moved and knew that she wasn't okay. He wondered if maybe there was any possible way to make her feel better. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Kate didn't react. She was too upset to do anything. Princeton smiled and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Kate," he whispered, "let's take a bath together."

"No way!" she complained.

"Ah," Princeton sighed as he stepped into the bathtub filled with soothing hot water and bubble bath. Kate had already forcibly stepped in as well, so now both sat in the steaming tub, naked in front of each other, but still covered by the thick bubbles. Kate blushed slightly at this. They had been living together for months now, being together like this had become such a common thing, but Kate couldn't help it. Princeton was the first person she had ever been with so closely, she still got butterflies in her stomach whenever they were like this. She tried to forget how upset she was and decided to talk to him instead.

"Hey, Princeton," Kate asked, getting his attention, "do you remember when we first met?"

Princeton thought for a few seconds before answering. "It was just a few days after the first of September, on my first day in New York… so about eight months I guess."

"More like eight and a half months. It hasn't been that long, yet it feels like so much has happened. I can't believe it's only now you've mentioned your family."

"I didn't, my family called me. God, why did I give them your number?"

Kate gigged slightly at this. Watching him get annoyed was such an amusement to her. Hearing her laugh, Princeton sighed with relief.

"I'm glad you're smiling," he said. "You have no idea how much you worried me."

Kate's smile faded slightly at this comment.

"Don't think I'm not mad at you," she said. "How is it possible that you got fired again? How many times has it been now?"

Princeton's relief disappeared. He didn't like Kate being mad at him, but he knew she had every right to be.

"Kate, I'm sorry… I mean, it's not like I don't try. I just haven't really found a working environment that I really feel really comfortable with yet."

"Hm." Kate didn't seem impressed.

"But, I swear I'll look for another job! I know how important it is that we-"

"Maybe I should stop working on the school," Kate interrupted.

"What?"

"Maybe I should. I could get a job instead. I can put it on hold for a year or two…"

"Kate, no! This is your dream! I can't let you do that."

"I can't have a dream if I can't pay the rent, Princeton!" Kate snapped.

Princeton was taken back by her sudden change of tone. Kate was also shocked. She felt ashamed at herself for letting it go that far. She turned away in embarrassment, looking away from him.

Kate grabbed a sponge on the side of the tub and began to scrub her shoulders. At the same time, she played with the bubbles a little, looking distracted. Princeton knew she was really troubled and felt bad. He gently grabbed her hand with the sponge in it silently made her stop.

"Calm down," he said. He took the sponge from her hand, but not in a forceful way. He soaked it in the hot water and then began soaking and massaging her back with it. Kate shuddered. He knew she liked being massaged like this. Him doing this only showed that he had forgiven her without even having to say anything. Kate was the guilty one now.

"I'm sorry," Kate said when she realized this.

"For what?" Princeton asked.

"I know you try hard, Princeton. Sometimes I guess I just don't think you realize how important it is…"

Kate didn't finish. Princeton continued to soak her back, waiting for her to continued.

"Princeton, why are you here?" she finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you here? With me? Why do you put up with me everyday even when I nag on you and don't get everything right?"

Princeton thought about this for a few seconds. "Maybe because… I don't know," he answered. "Maybe because… I was sick and tired of putting up with my family for so long, I moved to New York and fell in love with you because you accepted me and made me feel at home here."

"I fell in love with you too… but, why do you love me?"

"Because… you make me happy. I never thought that would be enough, but it is."

Kate laughed a little at this. "It took you a while. I don't know if you were all that happy with me during that time you were with Lucy…" She trailed off. She was a little surprised she brought this up.

"Kate, I thought we were passed that," Princeton said sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," she said. "It's just whenever I think about it I can't help but feel a little jealous all over again."

"Oh, common, didn't you ever at least once fantasize yourself with someone else while when we were separated?"

"Of course not. You were the only person I wanted to be with. I only had feelings for you, and I still do. I wouldn't just casually open myself to anyone but you."

Princeton stopped what he was doing when he heard this. Staring at Kate's back, he couldn't help another sudden feeling of guilt come over him. But at the same time, he felt an overwhelming sense of love grow even stronger for her. For the first time ever, Princeton saw that loving her meant feeling only for her, no matter what may be happening between them. He knew he was doing this all along, but maybe now this was the first time it really hit him. Maybe she was harsh on him every now and then, but she only did it because she cared. Her love was exclusive and it was unconditional. Maybe that's what he loved about her all along.

Kate felt Princeton stop moving the sponge on her back and knew that it was a reaction from what she had just said. She felt guilty again as well. Had she said something to make him feel bad?

"Princeton, everyone makes mistakes. It's okay, I know that you-"

Kate couldn't continue for she suddenly felt Princeton embrace her from behind in a tight hug. He buried his face in her neck and wanted nothing more than to show how sorry he was and how much he knew he loved her. He began to kiss her shoulder gently and tears began to uncontrollably pour from his eyes from what he was feeling.

"Princeton," Kate whispered out of surprise as she felt her lover do this, but more surprised that he was sobbing for her. Sobbing, crying, something she had never seen him do.

Kate turned around and immediately kissed Princeton on the lips. She ran her fingers through his hair and he began to do the same, bubbles from the bath being tossed all over through their fingers and hair. Kate wanted to comfort him and let him know that everything was okay because she was there. There was no reason to feel bad and no reason to feel guilty. They were together now and that should be all that mattered. They would get through whatever the bad times would throw at them, just like they've done before.

Kate could suddenly feel tears appearing in her eyes as well. She couldn't help it, and she suddenly had the urge to make love to him right there in the bathtub. And that's just what they did.

A while later Kate collapsed on the bed, wrapped in nothing but a towel from the bathroom. She let out a satisfied sighed before she felt Princeton embrace her in a hug again. He wore his blue robe but didn't let it stop him from being close to her.

"Did you drain the tub?" Kate asked.

"I'll do it later," Princeton answered.

"Okay," Kate said, smiling.

"Kate, I think I've changed my mind."

"About what?" Kate asked, puzzled.

"Going to my sister's wedding. I think I'll go."

"Really? Oh, Princeton, I'm so glad to hear that!"

"You were right. No matter what, they're still my family. But, will you go with me?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I think I'll be braver if you came."

"Aw, you're so sweet! I think that'd be a great idea! Even if your family is what you say they are, I think I can handle them."

"I'm not afraid of that," Princeton said with doubt, "I'm just worried they won't be able to handle you."

"Don't worry," Kate replied with confidence, "it's only for one weekend. I think we'll live."

"I hope so. I love you, Kate Monster."

"I love you too, Princeton."

The two got themselves comfy in their embrace. Even if it was almost noon, both felt themselves falling asleep again.

A/N: I owe this to my best friend Aoki, who is responsible for so much brainstorming on this fic. Just so you know, I didn't think of all of this on my own. We are a dedicated team, not a one-man show. I hope Chapter 2 has anticipated you enough. In the next chapter we will finally meet the parents! Sit tight…


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting the Parents

**Chapter 3: Meeting the Parents**

Three weeks later…

Kate had asked Becky to come and take care of the apartment while they were gone. Becky was a high school graduate, new to living on Avenue Q. She was a singer and Broadway hopeful who currently worked at Barnes and Noble, of which Kate had helped refer her to. Becky was more than happy to help out.

"Alright, here's the deal," Kate explained, handing Becky a piece of paper. "I usually wash the bed sheets on weekends, but since we'll be gone and I won't exactly have time when I get back, I would appreciate you doing it. If you could please clean the dishes in the sink and vacuum the floor, that'd be helpful too. While you're at it, please double check everyday that there's nothing unusual or missing anywhere, like anything that may have been stolen or broken. You think you got it?"

Becky inspected the paper with the list and various notes on it. She scratched her head and looked up at the sky. She seemed confused for a minute, but she immediately smiled with reassurance.

"No problem, Kate," she exclaimed, "I promise everything will be spick and span when you get back!"

"Great," Kate said with wide eyes. "Now, today is Thursday, and we'll be back sometime on Sunday in the afternoon or the evening, so we'll be gone for three nights-"

"Three nights, got it! Don't worry, your place will look as though you never left!"

Becky was practically saluting, promising not to mess up. Kate nervously grinned, wondering if this was such a good idea after all. She would have asked Christmas Eve to help, but she and Brian were long gone now. Asking them to take care of their apartment would be asking too much.

Princeton was putting their luggage in the trunk of their awaiting taxi, when Gary came up and poked at his shoulder.

"Hey, kid, going away for the weekend?" he asked with a grin.

"You could say that," Princeton answered. "My sister's getting married."

"Married, huh? Who's the lucky lady? Or guy?"

"What?! Lucky lady? Are you suggesting that my sister is a lesbian?"

"Well, yeah, isn't she?"

"No! Why would you think that?!"

"Uh… I don't know. I guess I just assumed she was a lesbian."

"What, you think I'm gay?"

"No, listening to you night after night, I know you're not gay. I just thought she was-"

"Well, she's not. I don't know 'em… but I know it's a guy!"

"Right, I gotchya. Say, uh, Princeton," Gary said, leaning in closer, "I hear that you used your toothbrush on your nose once. What was up with that?"

Princeton blushed beat red in embarrassment.

"Yeah, well, I hear you use a sponge to wash your… hair!" Princeton exclaimed awkwardly.

"Great comeback Princeton," Gary said with a snicker as he walked away.

"Shut up Gary!"

"What are you going on about now?" Kate asked as she approached the taxi.

"You told Gary about my toothbrush problem?!" Princeton replied with annoyance.

"Yeah, so? It was funny."

"Kate you are so mean!"

"Hey Princeton!" someone shouted from above.

Both Kate and Princeton looked up to see Nicky sticking his hear out his widow.

"Did you pack and extra toothbrush for your nose?!" he shouted mockingly.

Princeton turned to Kate with his mouth gaping.

"You told Nicky, too?!" Princeton asked with a more annoyed tone as he heard Nicky laughing his ass off.

"Sorry, it just kinda… slipped," Kate said, giving the best excuse she could. She had a big grin that clearly showed she was way above victory in this fight.

"I can't believe you! I told you that was embarrassing and private!"

"Get in the taxi."

Princeton rolled his eyes in frustration. He followed her orders and playfully pouted at her on the way to the train station.

It was supposed to be an hour and a half train ride, but most likely there would be delays. There always were. Kate was hoping that that they might be able to talk a little more about Princeton's life before New York. About living in New Jersey, and maybe learning more about his family she never met. All she knew so far was that his mom was a lawyer and his dad was a child psychologist. That was it. She hadn't seen picture of them or anything. Her efforts were futile. Not long after the train started moving, Princeton fell asleep. Kate decided to let him be. He might feel more rested when they got there. It's a good thing he wasn't the snoring type. She never would have let him sleep in public if he was.

The whole train ride she didn't even realize that the time was passing by. She stared out the window most of the time, watching the trees, houses, and towns go by. Every second that went by meant home was getting farther and farther away. It almost felt like she was leaving her very own comfort zone.

Kate began to get a little nervous. She had nearly three weeks to think about how this was all going to turn out, and she was convinced that it couldn't possibly be as bad as Princeton said it would be. But now she couldn't help but think that everything could go totally wrong. Princeton had warned her about his mom being a little disapproving as well as controlling. The worst part, he said, is that probably she doesn't even realize that she can be so possessive.

_Sure, everyone's racist, everyone disapproves of some things, I mean come on!_ Kate thought. Well, what if his mom is worse? Why would Princeton warn her about it if it didn't mean trouble? Kate suddenly began debating whether coming was a good idea.

The first time Princeton met her parents was on Thanksgiving the year before. While they were, of course, just sweet loving parents, they definitely didn't seem to make any effort to embarrass or pressure Kate. When she and Princeton decided to move in together, her parents were okay with him and they trusted that he was being a good boyfriend to her. She saw that he really admired that they trusted her in that way. At least Princeton finally told his parents that they were living together, so now they wouldn't have to go through that awkward conversation.

Before she even knew that hours had gone by, Kate heard the train's intercom announce that their stop was coming up shortly. As the train pulled into the station minutes later, Kate knew it was time to wake Princeton up.

"Princeton," Kate said softly, nudging his shoulder and waking him from his slumber. He stirred and opened his eyes, turning to her with sleepy eyes that asked her for more sleep. "We're here."

Princeton looked around at his surroundings and saw that she was right.

"Geez, Kate, I'm sorry," he said as the train came to a halt. "I didn't even know I had fallen asleep."

"It's okay," she whispered as she kissed him softly, "but we gotta go."

"Right…"

It was a ten-minute taxi drive to the house. Before long, they found themselves standing in front of a blue, two-story house with a white picket fence surrounding the front yard. At the front of the house there were five steps that led up to a porch, with the front door right behind it.

"My God, Princeton, why on Earth did you leave?" Kate exclaimed, half jokingly.

"I told you why," he said, knowing she was trying to be funny.

They walked through the gate and down the short path, up the steps until they were standing in front of the door. Kate tried to examine every little thing that belonged to this house, and wondered if she was at all worthy of any of it. The clean glass windows; the huge pots of flowers surrounding the frame of the door; the well-furnished, white porch they stood on. It was all just too… nice. Was she even allowed to stand in the presence of all this?

"Here we go, " Princeton said with a weak smile, just before he rang the doorbell.

"It'll be okay," Kate tried to comfort him, rubbing his shoulder.

"Oh shit, Kate," Princeton said as he turned to her, "if they ask, we're not living together."

"What? But, Princeton I thought you said-"

Before Kate could continue, the front door suddenly swung open with a woman who looked to be in her mid forties standing inside. She had very dark brown hair that flowed past her shoulders, and her skin was very tan, even darker than Princeton's. She wore a dark orange, sleeveless turtleneck top and a black skirt that went down to her knees. When she saw Princeton standing in front of her, her face lit up with a bright smile.

"Is that my baby boy?!" she asked in a high-pitched tone. Not even looking for an answer, she grabbed him in a tight hug, which Princeton hardly responded to.

"Hi, Mom," he replied, giving her a pat on the back until he finally embraced her in an awkward hug.

"Oh, Princeton," his mother said, separating herself from him. "It's been so long, I can't believe it's you."

The two were nearly the same height, so it wasn't hard to look straight at his face. Princeton was probably a little shorter than her.

"Princeton, you look pale," his mother replied. "What have you been eating?"

"Mom, stop it, I'm fine," Princeton reassured her. "I want you to meet my girlfriend, Kate Monster."

Kate felt herself get all tense when Princeton's mother turned to her for the first time. Her smile went down slightly as she quickly examined Kate up and down. Kate could already see that she probably wasn't what his mother was expecting.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Kate said, smiling as best she could. She extended her furry hand out to hopefully gesture a handshake.

"Oh," Princeton's mother said, smiling. She shook Kate's hand in return. "So you're the one he's told us all about."

"Really?" Kate asked, rather surprised.

"No, not really," Princeton's mother said, letting Kate's hand go. "He never calls us."

Kate frowned slightly at this comment.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Princeton's mother said with a laugh. "He never calls, I never know what's going on. Anyway, I'm Janet. As you already know, I am Princeton's mother. Welcome to our home."

"Thank you," Kate said hesitantly.

"Is that my boy I hear out there?" a man's voice called from inside. A few seconds later, a Caucasian man, also in his mid forties, appeared in the doorway from inside. He had short brown hair with glasses resting on his face, along with a big grin from ear to ear. He was dressed in a normal suit and a red tie. He was also a little taller than Princeton, and considering how plain he looked, he didn't look too bad for a man of his age.

_This must be Princeton's father _Kate thought to herself.

"Son, I haven't seen you in months!" the man exclaimed as she slapped Princeton's shoulder. Princeton coughed a little from the impact.

"It's great to see you dad," Princeton said, trying to adjust.

"And who's this?" George asked with a smile when he saw Kate.

"I'm Kate Monster," Kate answered, also smiling. She was a little happy to be greeted more positively. "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine."

"Well there's no use staying outside," Janet exclaimed awkwardly. "Come in! Come in!"

Janet moved everyone into the front hallway inside. Kate observed the place in aw. The walls were painted cream white, and there were a lot of family photos that hung on the wall of the staircase. In a lot of ways, it looked like a regular, stereotypical suburb house. But, it was obvious it belonged to members of a much higher class. Past the hall Kate saw a beautiful living room with the warm sunlight shining through the window. Kate couldn't help but wonder again why Princeton would want to leave any of this.

"Wow, Janet," Kate said. "I love what you've done with the place."

"Yes, I like it," Janet replied. "Well, make yourselves comfortable, if you can. I'm going to finish making dinner."

"Great," Princeton answered.

"Thanks," Kate said as gratefully as she could.

Janet proceeded to exit the room, and George followed behind her.

"Princeton, I thought you said that you had told your parents we were living together!" Kate whispered with frustration once the parents had left the hallway.

"Kate, I seriously tried to tell them," Princeton said, "it just…"

"It just what?!"

"It just…" Princeton smiled when he knew what he was going to say. "It just kind of slipped."

Kate's mouth gapped open at his response. He may not have been fair and lied, but maybe this was payback. Oh, he was good.

"Kate Monster?" Janet said as she walked back into the room.

"Yes?" Kate said, standing upright.

"I made up the bed in the study room for you. You can bring your stuff in there if you want."

It took Kate a few seconds to realize what she meant, but it clearly made sense. If Janet thought they weren't living together, why on Earth would they sleep in the same bed? Kate had no choice but to play along.

"Oh… right. Thank you," Kate said. Janet left the hallway with a nod. Kate turned to Princeton and frowned. "Great, now we don't even get to sleep in the same bed together! Way to go, Princeton!"

"I'm sorry…" Princeton tried to apologies.

Kate grabbed her bag and followed in the direction Janet went, not listening to him. Princeton sighed, knowing once again that it was so impossible to please everyone.

"Hey son," George said as he entered the room, carrying a football.

"Yeah, Dad," Princeton said.

"How's about you and me catch up with a few throws?"

George patted the ball in his hand, encouraging the game, and Princeton cringed slightly. He was never very good with football. He tried it out a few times in High School, but he definitely didn't find it as satisfying as reading or writing or dating… Princeton sighed and gave in. Maybe this could be the start of actually getting something right.

"Sure, why not?"

Princeton forgot how big the backyard was. The bright green, grassy ground stretched out for hundreds of square feet, and it finally ended at a little creek that separated their yard and the yard behind them. There was no fence blocking the view of the house on the other side of the small body of water, so you could easily see how big their yard was as well. There were also a couple of small trees at the creek's edge, which made the scenery very beautiful. Looking at the empty grassy yard, a lot of memories from Princeton's childhood from long ago were startling to come back to him.

"So Princeton," George began as he threw the ball to his son, "how do you like New York?"

"New York is, good," Princeton replied after he caught the ball. "I mean, it's crowded, but I like it."

They continued their passing game as the conversation went on.

"But, you're not living in the city, are you? I think your mother told me you were living in Queens. Or, was it Brooklyn?"

"Yeah… something like that. I mean, I couldn't afford to live in the village or anything. You guys didn't give me a lot…"

"I know, son." George sounded understanding when he said this. Then he smiled. "That Kate girl sure seems nice."

Princeton gulped. He knew this was going to come up. "Yeah, she's great."

"So tell me. Have you two gotten the chance to… you know." George had a big grin on his face. He didn't need to say anymore than that to suddenly make Princeton miss a catch.

"Dad! Please don't go there-"

"Son, look, I'm not stupid, alright? I know it's the twenty first century, and things aren't what they were thirty years ago."

The last two sentences puzzled Princeton, wondering if either was really true. "Well…" George continued, "Maybe things aren't that different." Okay, he was able to correct one of them. Princeton pretended to agree with him. "Look, you remember when we had that little talk, and I said we'd have it again on day?"

Princeton's heart skipped. "Yeah?"

"Well, that talk will come up again very soon."

Princeton sighed with relief.

"I promise I won't say anything to your mother," George continued, "you know how she is. I've been in psychology for over 20 years now, and from what I can see, it looks like you've got some tension going on between you two."

"Ok…" Princeton knew he probably couldn't hide it, even though they had hardly shown it since they got there less than ten minutes ago. Still he tried to keep it cool. "So, what's your point?"

"My point is… I think you need to work out whatever you may be holding back between each other. That's only going to lead to something worse. If something bad happened, it may be best to just blame yourself on it. That way she'll forgive you faster."

"Alright, I'll take that into consideration." Princeton acted as though nothing was wrong. He really didn't want to come home and suddenly make it look like he had a disaster relationship.

"Good!" George exclaimed with a smile. He then softly shoved the football, previously on the ground, to Princeton until he took it into his hands. "Take it easy son!"

George patted Princeton's shoulder before making his way back to the house. Princeton thought about what his father just said. Surprisingly, the advice he just gave may actually make some sense.

Princeton turned back to the house, and suddenly stood still when he saw Kate standing by the back doorway. Her face was blankly expressionless. He had no idea whether she was still pissed at him or not. She walked over to him silently and didn't say a word. Princeton didn't even say anything until she finally approached him, and all he could say was, "Hey…"

Kate smiled slightly and then brushed some of his hair out of his face.

"Aw, did Princeton get some fatherly advice from his daddy?" Kate asked in a baby voice.

Princeton smiled, knowing she was more okay than before.

"Be quiet," Princeton said.

"Since when did you play football?" Kate asked.

"I did for a short while in high school. Not anymore." Princeton said as he threw the ball in the other direction and watched as it bounced off the ground. He turned back to Kate. "Kate, I'm sorry about not telling my parents we're living together. I'm just… trying to protect you."

"I know," Kate said. "But you know, I don't think I mind. Your mom told me the office room is bigger than any of the bedrooms."

"No it's not," Princeton said as he rolled his eyes, knowing that she was joking. Princeton hugged Kate and she happily hugged him back.

"Hey kids, dinner's ready!" Janet yelled from the back door.

Princeton and Kate broke the hug and looked back to the house. They awkwardly didn't know how to react now that Janet called them both kids.

"So mom, what's for dinner?" Princeton asked as they sat at the dinning room table.

"It's your favorite," Janet said happily. "My specialty steak!"

"Yay!" Princeton said with a smile.

"Now tell me, Princeton, what exactly are you doing these days?" Janet continued as she passed the food around.

"Well, I'm kind of in between places right now. I mean, I'm not really doing anything at the moment… but I'm looking for somewhere to else work."

"Huh, so then what are you doing with your time?"

"Um… well, I'm-"

"Kate," George suddenly chimed in, "what do you do?"

"Oh, well," Kate replied, "right now, I'm in the middle of founding a school."

"Tell me Kate Monster, is it a private school?" Janet asked, as if she were expecting this.

"Yes, it's a school for just for Monsters."

Janet frowned at this. "Well, being a private school, it sounds like you're off to a good start," she replied. "But, a school just for Monsters? Are you sure that's a smart idea? How popular do you suppose that will be?"

Kate didn't answer. She knew this was coming. Princeton warned her about all of it, but she couldn't help but feel tenser out of frustration from Janet's rude and snooty comments. Kate needed to do something to take the edge off.

Kate attempted to graze her foot over Princeton's, trying to ensue a game of footsie. Princeton was a little startled by this action and spit some of his food out without warning. He coughed up a few pieces of steak as well, much to the disgust of everyone sitting at the table.

"Princeton? What's wrong with you?" Janet asked when she saw this.

"What? Oh, nothing! I, uh, just remembered that I'm allergic to steak," Princeton lied, trying to defend himself. He then suddenly realized that this was a ridiculous excuse, coming from him.

"What are you talking about?" George asked. "You always loved your mother's steak when you were here."

"Well, yeah, but… I became a vegetarian," Princeton replied awkwardly.

"A vegetarian?" Janet asked with a suspicious tone. "Since when?"

"Since… yesterday."

"Since he moved to New York," Kate quickly chimed in, trying to defend him just as he said this. Both then suddenly realized they said two different things.

"Since I moved to New York," Princeton said.

"Since yesterday," Kate said at the same time.

They realized they just made the same mistake again. Both looked down with nervous fright. They had only been in the house for an hour and already they were making themselves look suspicious.

"Since yesterday…" Princeton finally concluded.

"Awkward," George sang before taking a bite of his food.

"George!" Janet scolded.

Kate really couldn't believe she was watching this kind of behavior coming from Princeton's mother. If this was how Janet behaved with her family, Kate felt incredibly uncomfortable already.

Before the conversation could go anywhere else, a loud slamming noise came from the other room. It didn't take long for everyone to realize it was the front door when a young woman in her twenties walked into the dining room.

"Hello family!" she called as she stood in the entryway of the dining room.

The young girl had tan skin like Princeton's. Her hair was very straight and cut passed her shoulders, with a very bright, golden color. It was obviously dyed or bleached. She also had bright blue eyes that completely brightened her face just like her big smile. She was incredibly slim and wore a bright blue shirt and a short white skirt.

"Oh Christ," Princeton said out loud with fear when she saw her.

The girl turned to Princeton when she heard him, and then let out a huge shriek of excitement.

"Oh-my-God… LITTLE BROTHER!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, which hurt everyone's ears. She immediately scurried over to him and grabbed his neck in a tight hug, almost choking him.

"Adel, let me go!" Princeton said, struggling from her tight embrace.

_Oh my God, this is his sister? _Kate questioned to herself, surprised by her appearance. Kate nearly blushed because she could not believe how beautiful Adel looked. Not that she had any attraction to her, but being in the presence of someone like Adel always reminded Kate how she was never as flashy or bright or pretty as she was, and probably never would be.

"I can't believe it's you!" Adel said as she shook Princeton's head back and forth until she finally let go. "I can't believe we're all here! It's like we're all one big happy family again!"

Kate nodded slightly as if she were apart this family she was talking about. Adel noticed her right away.

"And who's the furry little tootsie?" Adel asked with a smile.

Princeton put his head down in his hands in annoyance and embarrassment. Kate's eyes widened. Both were thinking the same thing, about her odd choice of words for the one person at the table who never actually lived in this house.

"Oh, are you Kate? You must be Kate, right?!" Adel said. "Wow, when Princeton answered the phone from your-"

"Shut it!" Princeton yelled suddenly. She almost blew their cover.

All the same, Adel just shrugged it off, and quickly walked over to Kate.

"It's nice to meet you Kate Monster," she said with a great big smile as she shook Kate's hand. Kate couldn't help but notice Adel was a lot more enlightened by Kate's appearance than Janet was.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you too, Adel," Kate replied, surprised at all the energy Adel was releasing.

"Oh, please," Adel said modestly. "If you want, you can call me Adel Fee. That's my first and middle name together. Everyone calls me that."

Kate stopped shaking her hand when she heard this. She gave Adel Fee a weird look.

"Adel Fee? Like the college? The Adelphi University?" Kate asked.

"Um, I guess so. Wow, I never actually thought of it in that way!"

Kate turned to Princeton and gave him a very strange look. Suddenly she was getting a strange connection. Princeton and Adel Fee… two siblings, with college names. A daughter and a son of a very uptight family.

A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seems quickly passed, but I was really desperate to get it done since I realized it has been two months since I posted my last chapter. I was working full time for the last two months over winter break. But now I'm back at school and I'm going to write more fanfiction! I promise the next one will be much more entertaining and with more depth. Still, please try to enjoy this one. Chapter 4 is on its way!


	4. Chapter 4: Breakfast and Adel

**Chapter 4: Breakfast and Adel**

Princeton was finding it hard to sleep. He stared at the ceiling in the dead, quiet dark. It had been months since he slept in his old bed, yet somehow it sort of felt like he had never left. The atmosphere and the room felt the same as it did months ago. The only problem here was that his warm, comfortable girlfriend wasn't right next to him. There wasn't a clock anywhere in the room. Who knew what time it was.

_The bed's too small_ Princeton thought with frustration. He turned over on his side and ultimately almost scooted off the edge. He was so used to a queen size bed, he couldn't even adjust to the twin bed he used to sleep in. There was only one possible way to fix this.

Princeton got out of bed and didn't even bother to turn the lights on. He reached over to the end of the bed and grabbed his robe that he brought from home. He wrapped it tightly around his body, keeping himself warm from the chilly night. He peeked out the door and made sure no one was in the hallway. He noticed that all the lights were out, so that meant the coast was clear.

Kate was finding it hard to sleep as well. This was her first time sleeping without Princeton at her side for months. The pullout bed was just about the same size as the one back home. It almost began feeling he was no longer with her. She was getting flashbacks of their separation, when she was lonely and all alone for three and a half weeks. She missed his loving comfort way too much.

Then this started to get her thinking about the first morning they spent together after their first date. Well, after the rude awakening from her boss, quitting her job, and stressing for a bit about her financial situation, things turned out a little better. Princeton asked her to be his girlfriend, and then they made love for the second time, even though it was well into the afternoon and they only had a few hours before their friends' wedding was supposed to start. But even after that, they just lay in bed and cuddled for a long time.

They kissed sweetly with their eyes closed for a while, parting and kissing and softly sucking on each other's lips. Kate stopped kissing her lover and started rubbing her nose against his with a smile. Princeton opened his eyes and watched as she did this. He let out a soft sigh and loved that he was so close to her. He was so sure he knew what he was feeling for her now.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he whispered with his mouth so close to hers.

"Mm, what?" Kate said, with her eyes still closed. It was then that Princeton said her favorite words she ever heard in him say.

"I adore you."

Kate opened her eyes and looked right into his. She was speechless. She nearly cried out of happiness when she heard him say that. No one had ever said such beautiful words to her in her life.

Kate smiled at this little memory as she continued to stare into the dark. She would kill to have him next to her right now. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the study room door opening, which made her jump since it was the first sound she heard since the lights went out.

She saw a figure come in through the doorway. She couldn't make out who it was, but felt a little nervous when they closed the door behind them and began tiptoeing over to her side of the pullout bed. She didn't make a sound or move a muscle as the figure quietly crept over and lay down next to her.

"Kate?" Princeton's voice replied, breaking the silence.

Kate let out a sigh of relief when she heard this.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, turning to him, "for a minute there I thought you were your mom, coming down to murder me."

Princeton laughed quietly at this. He gazed at Kate's cute, furry face. The moonlight, which shined through the window, made the room more visible so the two could see each other more easily. Kate gazed at him with loving eyes. She was so happy her wish was coming true.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked, even though she was sure she already knew the answer.

"I missed you," Princeton said. "It's been forever since we didn't sleep in the same bed together."

He leaned in and started kissing her, and Kate didn't even hesitate to respond and do the same. Then things started to get a little hotter. Princeton removed his robe and climbed under the sheets with Kate and she welcomed him with open arms. He lay on top of her, holding her close, and continued to kiss her sweetly. Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, loving every bit of it.

Kate felt Princeton's hand begin to lower on her side and sneak under her nightshirt, massaging her waist. Then his hand started to move upward. She knew what he was trying to do, but she wasn't so sure if it was right.

"Princeton, wait," Kate said, breaking the kiss. "Are you sure this is okay? I mean, with your parents upstairs, I don't know if we should do this. I feel like we're disobeying them."

"Kate, I'm not a baby anymore. I don't need to listen to what my parents say."

"Yeah, well, you listened when they said come to your sister's wedding," Kate replied slyly.

Princeton knew he was caught there. He sighed, knowing she was right. But, he wasn't going to let her smartness stop him.

"Shut up and kiss me," he commanded playfully.

"Princeton-"

Before Kate could think of stopping him, she suddenly felt herself become lost in his kiss all over again. When she finally realized that she had lost the battle, she began taking his top off and also felt him start to fondle under her nightshirt. Kate began to moan loudly at the sensation she felt.

"Shh, Kate," Princeton whispered, "We don't want them to hear us."

"I'm sorry," Kate whispered back. "It just feels so good…"

"We're gonna have to try and keep it down."

Kate eyed her boyfriend wearily. "Easy for you to say. Back home we could be as loud as we wanted and not care about what anyone thought. But here… we have your whole family to worry about. Maybe we shouldn't do this."

"Kate, don't worry," Princeton reassured her. "We'll keep it down and I'm sure they won't hear us. Relax…"

Within a few seconds, Princeton was back on track with fondling under Kate's shirt, only this time he kissed her and made sure that the only sounds coming from both of them were soft, quieted moans.

As the night went on, the couple continued to try keeping the noise level down as low as possible, but every now and then a sharp squeal or shout escaped one of them and may have easily been heard. A while later after they had decided that they were done for the night, Princeton and Kate lay under the sheets, staring up at the ceiling. They were a few inches away from each other, awkwardly relaxing after their very difficult night. A long silence had ensued them, but after a long pause Princeton was the first to break the ice.

"Well, that was… interesting," he replied.

Kate giggled slightly. She turned to her boyfriend, brushing some hair away from his face. "Hey, you know what? At least you tried," she said. "That's what counts."

"Really?" Princeton asked.

"Yeah, really," Kate answered nodding. "You know, since we were trying keep the whole thing a secret from your parents, who are right upstairs, I think it was much more fun when we didn't have permission."

"You're right… it was fun," Princeton said, finally smiling.

The two cuddled for a few short minutes before they knew they had to end this. They dressed themselves so that nothing would look suspicious. They kissed and said their final good nights before Princeton left the room and quietly closed the door behind him.

He carefully walked back to the stairway, then stopped dead when he saw George coming down the stairs. George turned the hallway light on, and also stopped when he saw his son at the bottom of the stairwell.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh… I," Princeton had to think of a lye fast. He couldn't let anyone know he was with Kate, not even George. He thought of the first thing that came to mind and blurted out, "I was, trying to find the bathroom! It's been so long, I've forgot where it is!"

"There's one right upstairs next to your room," George said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right…" Princeton said, feeling like an idiot. He didn't say anything else as walked up to the staircase. He ran as quietly as he could until he was safe again upstairs.

Hours later as the sun was just beginning to rise, Kate could feel someone shaking her shoulder while she slept. She stirred and groaned a little, annoyed that she was being disturbed from her slumber. She opened her eyes and turned to whoever was shaking her, surprised to find Adel's face right in front of hers.

"Adel Fee?" she asked with surprise.

"Shh, quiet," Adel whispered. "Kate, how soon until you can be ready?"

"What? Adel, what time is it?"

"No time for questions! How long does it take you to get ready?"

"I don't know… thirty minutes maybe."

"Alright! Meet me in the kitchen in half an hour!'

Adel quickly scurried out of the room, leaving Kate alone in the darkness. She looked out the window and saw the sun just peaking behind the trees. She looked at the clock on the table. 6:32. What on earth was so important that Adel had to wake her up so early for? Maybe it had something to do with the wedding.

As best she could, Kate groggily got out of bed and went to take a quick shower. She got dressed and met Adel in the brightly lit kitchen just a few minutes before 7.

"Adel," Kate said as she yawned, "what did you wake me up so early for?"

Adel was just finishing her cup of coffee. "Kate," she announced, "You and I are going to go out for a nice breakfast. You know, you're my little brother's longest relationship ever, and I think we need to take the time to get to know each other better!"

Kate was suddenly wide awake. She wasn't expecting her boyfriend's sister to approach her this way. "Oh… alright… but why so early?"

"Sorry," Adel said sheepishly, "I have a lot of shopping to do this morning, then I have my wedding rehearsal with Charles, and then I have to get ready for the rehearsal party this evening. Then tomorrow, I'm getting married, so I honestly don't know how else we could have done this. Oh my God, I'm getting married! I can't believe it's happening tomorrow!"

Kate was amused at how giddy Adel was acting, but she couldn't blame her. As a woman, she knew too well that a girl's wedding day was usually the most wonderful and happy day of her life.

Kate and Adel got into Adel's nice car and took a short drive to a coffee and bakery shop in a strip mall where they could have a nice chat for as long as they wanted. The sun was almost completely over the horizon when they arrived.

Adel was happy to pay for Kate's order. Kate thought it was so nice Adel was the one paying, but she was a little embarrassed since she was aware Adel probably had more than enough money do so.

The two girls sat at a table next to the window. They first started talking about the smaller things like where they grew up, college life, and other girlish stuff.

"So Kate, how did you do it?" Adel asked with a grin.

"How did I do what?" Kate asked.

"How did you get Princeton to stay with you for so long?"

"What do you mean?"

"Please, I know my little bro. He's not a big relationship person. I think he has commitment issues."

"Oh, I don't think that's really the case anymore," Kate replied with a smile.

"How's that?"

"Well, Princeton and I went through a lot during the first few months after he moved to my neighborhood. I think a few of his commitment issues sort of just ran off after a while."

"I see," Adel said. "Then you have to tell me something, alright?"

"Like what?"

Adel leaned in closer to Kate so she could whisper.

"How is he in bed?" she asked with a giggle.

Kate immediately burst out laughing with embarrassment. "What?!" she asked in between laughs.

"Common! You have to tell me! I have to look out for my little brother and know if he's being fair in the bedroom."

Kate couldn't believe she was being forced to answer this. However, this wasn't the first time she had been asked this question. She had many conversations with Christmas Eve and a few other friends about it in the past. Still, this was his sister. It felt a little weirder to have to tell her.

"Well," Kate began as she blushed, "I'd have to say… yes, he's very good in bed!"

"Oh I knew it!" Adel replied and burst into giggles. "Do you guys ever play any weird games?"

"Wha… What are you talking about," Kate asked, almost ready to burst. No one had ever asked her this.

"You know," Adel continued, "do either of you have any sexual fantasies you like to reenact?"

"I… I don't think I should be answering that," Kate said before taking a quick sip of her coffee.

"No you have to tell me, please! I promise I won't tell anyone now common!"

"Well, no. No we don't. Believe me we've had this conversation."

"Really? Are you sure you couldn't come up with anything?"

"Nope, nothing… well, okay. You know I guess we did try a few things at first, but, no, I think we just both felt that doing it normally made it the most comfortable."

Kate suddenly couldn't stop laughing. Somehow it actually didn't seem so weird telling Adel this. Kate actually felt really at ease talking to Adel.

"Well that's fine, whatever floats your boat," Adel said as she finished laughing. "You know, I was a little worried. When you two were going at it last night I couldn't hear a whole lot. I thought he was being a horrible lover. I actually thought he was hurting you."

Kate's smile immediately faded when Adel told her this.

"Last night?" she asked in shock. "Did… did you hear us?"

"Oh Sweety," Adel said with sympathy, "we may live in a big house, but the walls in that place are paper-thin. I'm sure the whole neighborhood heard those few shouts you two made."

Kate suddenly felt even more embarrassed. Did they blow up their little secret?

"Don't worry," Adel continued, "I'm only kidding about the neighborhood thing. Seriously though, Princeton should know better. We both know that our mom really doesn't approve of pre-marital sex. That's why I always do it at my fiancé's house. If she knew about all the people I've slept with in my life, she would probably have a heart attack. I thought Princeton would have learned his lesson by now."

Thinking about what Adel said, Kate could suddenly see where a few of Janet's control issues were coming from.

"Anyway… So Kate, what exactly do you do?" Adel Fee asked.

"Oh, well I was a kindergarten teaching assistant, but right now I'm the founder of the Monsterssori School in New York."

" 'Monsterssori'? Never heard of it," Adel said, smiling.

"Not surprised," Kate mumbled. "Well, it's not exactly up and running yet. It's supposed to be opening in the fall."

"Really? No way!"

"Yeah, way," Kate said, startled. "But, what exactly do you do, Adel Fee?"

"Oh, Princeton never told you? I'm training to be a lawyer! I'm attending Harvard right now. I really want to solve a lot of court cases and that sort of stuff!"

"What? You're a lawyer?!"

"Of course, silly! Well, not yet. You see, I finished college in three years, and I went to law school right after college! Didn't Princeton at least tell you that?"

"Well, no he didn't… So, does that mean you'll, like, solve murders and that kind of stuff?"

"Well, maybe. But that's how I met Charles, my fiancé. I was an intern, and we were working on this really hardcore murder case together. It went on for three months! We hadn't known each other for long at all, but by the end of the case it was obvious that we were going to get married, it was just a matter of when exactly. He took me out one night to dinner to congratulate me, and then proposed to me. It was so romantic. Wow, I can't believe I'm telling you all this!"

Adel's tan cheeks were turning pink as she blushed with a big grin. She was so giddy. Kate just watched in awe at how happy she was about this wedding.

"Wait, what exactly was he congratulating you on?" Kate asked.

"For winning the case, of course!" Adel replied. "You see, Charles's client was pleading not guilty, but I knew he was guilty! I wasn't going to let them win! Well, I beat them fair and square! And after all that he still wanted to marry me! Isn't that amazing?"

"It certainly is…" Kate smiled the best she could, only wondering how two people could fall in love while fighting in a court case. "If you don't mind me asking, Adel Fee, how old are you exactly? I mean, you seem so young and you're getting married..."

Adel looked at Kate, puzzled for a few seconds, but instantly smiled.

"I know, it does seem soon, doesn't it?" Adel said. "Well the truth is, I'm twenty-four years old! But I'll be twenty-five in September!"

Kate almost choked. Her birthday was in September too, which meant Adel was a year younger than her. Princeton would be twenty-three in a few weeks, so that made Adel only a year and nine months older than him.

"So Kate," Adel continued, "have you and Princeton talked about possibly getting hitched yet?"

This question sort of startled Kate. "What?!" she asked with disbelief. "W-What are you talking about? No! We aren't thinking about that now! Please! You've got to be kidding me!"

"Well I assumed since you've been together for a while now maybe you were-"

"Nope! Hehe, we've never talked about it," Kate replied hesitantly. "I don't think that it has crossed Princeton's mind at all! That's the last thing on his mind… Besides, I'm so busy working on my school I don't ever I have the time to think about that sort of thing. I just…"

"Well, hasn't marriage ever crossed your mind, Kate?" Adel asked with curiosity.

"Well, no, it hasn't, not since…"

Kate suddenly thought of Brian and Christmas Eve's wedding the year before. She had presented to Princeton the bouquet that she had to fight to get, but it was what he did right after that changed everything. He broke up with her and walked away, and then she was sure she had lost him forever. Kate thought she had made a big mistake bringing up or even hinting at the subject. When Princeton asked to take him back a few weeks later, she vowed to herself that she wouldn't mention it again after that. It was obvious that commitment still scared him, and she was scared of loosing him again. She decided that it wasn't important to think about marriage. All that mattered was that they were together again, and that's all she needed.

Kate felt a little sad all of a sudden. Adel was younger than her and already she had found someone she was ready to be eternally happy and spend the rest of her life with. But time was running out for Kate. At first she didn't think she and Princeton were going to last, since he was so scared of commitment. But after living together for so long, she couldn't help but often daydreamed about their future together. It would be really nice if everything was to work out and they were able to spend the rest of their lives together. But neither of them had ever brought up the subject of possibly getting married. Did this mean that she would never be able to talk to him about this? If she did, would he just walk away like he did the last time? Was he just never going to even look at her in that way? If he did leave, would she ever be able to find someone she loved just as much as she loved him ever again? Would she ever be able to pronounce her eternal love to anyone?

Kate was so wrapped in all of these overwhelming thoughts, she didn't even the noticed the tears that began rolling down her cheeks.

"Kate? Kate what's wrong?" Adel asked.

"What?"

"Kate, you're crying! Did I say something that offended you?!"

When Kate suddenly realized Adel was right, she panicked and wiped the tears away as fast as she could and tried to stop herself from crying.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," Kate said as she took a deep breath. "No, you didn't say anything wrong. I just remembered something unpleasant…"

"Oh, well if it's unpleasant, then maybe we shouldn't talk about it. I'm sorry…"

"No, it's fine. Thank you."

"Anyway, we should get going. We still have to go pick up my wedding dress!"

On the way to the wedding store, Kate tried to forget everything that went through her head back at the coffee shop. She didn't want to ruin the nice morning she was having with Adel.

"Adel, where is your wedding ceremony being held?" Kate asked.

"Did you see our backyard? With all that open space and the trees by the creek?"

"Yeah?"

"That's where we're having it!"

"Really? Right back there?"

"Yep! I really wanted to have it somewhere that was really special to me. Somewhere I spent my whole life growing up around, you know? I mean, I could have done it at the church near our house, but somehow doing it at home just felt more special to me. Charles was so sweet to agree to do it in our backyard!"

When they got to the wedding store, Adel had to try her dress on to make sure there weren't any last alterations to be made. While Kate waited, she examined all the wedding dresses on display, along with all the different decorations. Kate couldn't help but feel sad again. She wondered if she would ever wear her own special dress on her special day.

Kate couldn't let Adel know that she was feeling this way. She wasn't going to let her problem ruin Adel's happiness. But she definitely had a lot to think about. She may even need to talk with Princeton about it. That is, if he would be able to sit through the first sentence.

"Kate Monster, what do you think?!" Adel's voice yelled from the other side of the store.

Kate turned when she heard her name being called, and then she almost had a heart attack from the shock she had. Adel's dress was stunning. Like most traditional wedding dresses, its length went down to the floor. There were no straps or sleeves, and the top even showed off her cleavage a little, but not in a sluty way. There was a little ruffle design on the front that shaped her body figure perfectly. The dress was almost a prom style, but it was obviously set for a wedding. Adel also wore a long veil on her head that complimented the dress. There were even a few fake flowers on the top that almost looked as though they were tied in her hair. Adel almost looked like a gorgeous flower princess.

Kate smiled and she could almost feel her tears starting again as she looked at Adel and replied, "You look beautiful Adel Fee."

Later that morning, Princeton was just opening his eyes after a long night of peaceful sleep. When he was awake enough, he let out a deep sigh and with a great big smile on his face, almost as bright as the sun. He thought about last night, and about Kate. Even though last night went completely wrong and unplanned, it was a learning experience from them both, knowing now that they couldn't have sex without making a sound to save their lives. Princeton still felt embarrassed by it, but he tried to tell himself it was just harmless fun.

Princeton turned on his side, adjusting himself, until he noticed someone sitting at the foot of his bed. This startled him. He wasn't expecting someone to be in his room.

"Ah!" Princeton yelled with fright as he sat up when he realized it was his mother. She sat there, arms and legs crossed as if she was about ready to lecture him to death.

"Good morning, Princeton," Janet said, rolling her eyes at her son's reaction.

"Hi… Mom," Princeton said with embarrassment. He tried to cover himself, feeling uncomfortable to be lying in his underwear in front of her, especially when she was already dressed.

"You're up late," Janet replied, looking at Princeton's current state.

"I'm a heavy sleeper," Princeton grumbled.

"Well, that's strange because your father told me he ran into you last night downstairs. Do you want to tell me what that was about?"

"Oh… right. I couldn't find the bathroom, it's been so long!"

"Huh, funny. I sent your father down to check because I could have sworn I heard strange noises coming from downstairs. Do you know what the was?"

"Oh… cat. Yeah, it must have been the cat!"

"Princeton, we don't have a cat."

"Well, you do now!"

"Really? Well then, what's its name? Is it Kate?"

When Janet said her name, Princeton knew right away that they were caught. There was no way he could get out of this.

Seeing that her son wasn't going to respond, Janet only sighed with disappointment.

"Princeton," she said, "answer me this question and give me the truth. Do you love Kate?"

Naturally, Princeton's first thought was to answer yes, he did love her, and it didn't matter what she thought. He was in love with Kate and if Janet didn't approve of it then she would just have to accept that they were together. But Princeton didn't answer. Something inside him almost completely stopped him.

Looking at this mother sitting over him, he suddenly didn't know how he would explain what they had shared the past eight months, and what they had been through together.

_What's wrong with me?_ Princeton thought. _Why can't I just tell her…?_

This wasn't looking good. Princeton had to answer her. He had to say something. Anything would help.

"Define love," Princeton said.

Not the right answer. Princeton stepped in his own trap.

Janet didn't answer him, and sighed with disappointment again. Shaking her head, she stood from the bed and turned to the door.

"There's breakfast downstairs, you're welcome to help yourself if you want anything," she said as she left the room, leaving Princeton alone with even more of his troubling thoughts.

_What the hell was that?!_ Princeton asked himself. _Why didn't you just tell her how you feel about Kate?_

Princeton solemnly made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. George was sitting at the table reading a newspaper, and Janet was just finishing putting the dishes away.

"Well, look who's finally up," George replied when he saw his son sit at the table.

"Hi," Princeton said as he poured himself some cereal. Then he noticed something missing. "Um, Mom, where's Adel? Did Kate get up yet?"

"Well," Janet sighed, "believe it or not, your sister kidnapped Kate this morning before any of us got up."

"No, she didn't," Princeton said, not wanting to believe it.

"Yes she did, she left a note and everything. God only knows when they'll be back."

Princeton just sat there and could only wonder what horrors Kate was going through with Adel.

"Well," Janet said as she hung up a towel, "I have to go out make sure the caterers are still coming tomorrow, then I have to pick up the dry-cleaning…"

Janet picked up her purse and keys off the table. She then stopped and looked at the men at the table as if she was expecting something.

"George!" she scolded.

George jumped and looked up at his wife. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed as he put the paper away, "and I've got to go pick up the wedding cake!"

Janet left out the back door and George put his jacket on before turning to leave.

"See ya later son!" George said, grabbing his keys. "I hope we can catch up some more later."

"Dad, wait!" Princeton said before George even had the chance to reach the door. "Uh, I really need to talk to you about something."

George gave Princeton a puzzled look. "What about son?"

"Look, I know this is going to sound weird but I need to talk to you about Kate. I mean, you're a psychologist, right?"

"Well, I mostly treat children, but I guess if you need some advice I can help. You know, this is strange. Our Princeton asking advice from someone?"

Princeton rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know, but I was upstairs, and Mom asked me something, and I didn't know how to respond, so I wanted to know if you could help me-"

"Alright, alright, calm down. Look, go upstairs and change, and you can come to the cake shop with me and we can talk on the way there."

"Okay, that's fine. I'll go do that."

Princeton ran upstairs to his bedroom and grabbed his outfit for the day. He took a quick minute to look at himself in the mirror, the suddenly got a very weird feeling about today. Something big was definitely going to happen.

A/N: Everyone, I am SO sorry it took me nearly three months to post this chapter, but a lot has happened in the past few months. I was without my comp for a month, then I had to rewrite chapter four since everything got erased, then finals came, then spring break came, then the new quarter started and basically a lot has been happening. Anyway, here is the much-awaited Chapter 4! I hope you have enjoyed it. Do you like Adel yet? Do you hate Janet yet?

Also, since I couldn't work on this chapter for a month, I did work a lot on what's going to happen after Adel's wedding. If you're a big Avenue Q fan (and I think you are if you're reading this), then you are going to RUV it! Sit tight and keep reading! ;)

Reviews always welcome!


	5. Chapter 5: Reckless Love

**Chapter 5: Reckless Love**

"So, tell me what's on your mind, son?" George asked.

Princeton and George were both driving downtown to the cake shop. Princeton never thought he would be asking his father, of all people, for advice about this subject, but he knew he needed it now more than ever.

"Well," Princeton began, "Mom asked me if I loved Kate…"

"And do you?" George asked.

"Well… yeah, I do." Princeton noticed he almost didn't say the right answer again.

"You don't seem so sure."

"No, Dad, I am sure," Princeton said, turning to his father, "I mean, I don't know why I hesitated; I did that with Mom too, but I swear I feel that way."

"Okay, well, how do you know you feel that way?" George asked.

"Well… I don't know. I've never felt this way about anyone else. She's really smart, and funny. She has a great sense of humor. She's also a great talker. I mean, we can sit on her couch for hours and just talk about anything. She just makes me happy. Plus…"

"Does she feel the same way about you?"

"Yeah. I mean, I think so."

"You think so?"

"No, I mean, I know she does. She always says she does, and sometimes she can be a little strict about things, but I know it's because she cares about me."

"Really? What sort of things is she strict about?"

"Just little things, like going to bed at the right hour, jobs, that sort of thing."

"Well, she's not a control freak, is she?" George asked.

"No, she's not that strict," Princeton answered. "She 's pretty laid back about everything else... except her own work."

"Good," George answered, sounding relieved. "She sounds like a very sweet woman, Princeton."

"She is…" After all the comments he made of his girlfriend, Princeton couldn't help but blush and melt a little inside at the thought of Kate and all her good qualities.

"I'm going to ask a few personal question now, alright?" George said.

"Okay," Princeton gulped.

"Now, do you and Kate, you know… engage in sexual-"

"Dad," Princeton interrupted, "this is confidential, right?"

"Of course. Don't worry your secret is safe with me," George answered with a smile, nudging his son in the arm.

"K, well, yeah we do… a lot actually."

"Aha," George said slyly.

Princeton was a little grossed out by that comment. Not about Kate, but about his dad suddenly having a perverted interest in his personal life.

"So," George continued, "things have always been pretty good in that department?"

"Yeah… really good actually," Princeton said with a smile.

"No big problems there?"

"No not really… Well except for one time…"

"Oh? When was that?"

"Um, really early actually, back in November after we had a separation for a few weeks…"

Princeton started reminiscing about that late November night. The night when Brian and Christmas Eve had their house warming party since they just moved into their new apartment on the Lower Eastside. It was only a week after Kate and Princeton got back together, and that night a few unexpected surprises happened between them.

It started after everyone had a few drinks at the cafe. Not the Around the Clock Café. Christmas Eve wanted to have their party at a much more decent and brighter place. The drinks were a little more expensive, but the music was lovely. A Jazz band was playing on a small stage in the restaurant.

After Christmas Eve nagged on Brian for ordering the wrong drink, they immediately changed their mood and decided to have a romantic slow dance on the dance floor. Princeton remembered sitting next to Kate at the counter, watching Christmas Eve and Brian dance so calm and lovingly even right after their little fight.

"Isn't that amazing?" Kate said.

"What is?" Princeton asked.

"That two people like them can be just so in love, even though it feels like they fight every 10 minutes."

"Really? I don't think it's that often."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, knowing them I thought it was like every 5 minutes. I don't know maybe every 3…"

Kate couldn't help but giggle at his little joke, because what he said was so true. Princeton was surprised. He didn't expect it to be that funny, but it made him feel good that someone found weak jokes humorous. Kate however felt stupid having laughed at something so simple.

After watching the couple dance for another minute, Princeton turned to his girlfriend, a little nervous with his next proposal.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked.

Kate was surprised but also very happy he asked her.

"Sure, I'd love to," Kate said.

They both walked out to the dance floor with the other few couples that were already dancing. They didn't say anything while they slow danced. It was a little awkward at first, but they finally set in the mood after a few minutes. In fact, they got a little more in the mood than they meant to. They swayed in their little embrace, holding each other tight, before they ended up looking into each other's eyes and getting a little out of reality.

By the end of the song they had kissed, and it became a little more passionate than they had done in over a month. They had been taking it slowly that past week and their relationship had only come to a few small kisses and pecks. The mood didn't even break until they heard Christmas Eve, followed by everyone else, cheering them on and making catcalls.

"Woo hoo!"

"That's what I'm talking about!"

"So whose place is it happening at tonight?!"

Kate was probably more embarrassed than Princeton. She buried her face into his shoulder, trying to hide herself. Princeton was okay, knowing their humor, but when he saw how Kate reacted, he sort of empathized with her and tried comforting her.

On the way back home, Kate and Princeton both thought about the way everyone reacted to their kiss on the dance floor. Both were thinking that this might be leading up to something even bigger and soon. They got a little excited and their hearts were pounding at the thought. Even though they were thinking about the exact same thing, neither said anything to each other about it, fearing the other wouldn't feel the same.

When they got to Kate's door they were about to say good night, but they started kissing again. Then they remembered the dance floor again, and stopped.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow after work?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, see you then," Princeton said.

"Good night."

" 'Night."

Princeton only made it down the steps when Kate decided to stop him.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked.

Both were a little surprised when she asked this, but Princeton followed her in anyway at her request. Before too long, one thing led to another and they were making out on Kate's bed.

They kissed each other's lips over and over, battling their tongues back and forth. They held each other tightly, ready and wanting to feel everything they felt a month beforehand. It started with Kate lifting Princeton's sleeveless vest off, and then proceeded to unbutton his shirt. At the same time Princeton began undoing Kate's dress top until it finally slipped off.

They threw their tops off to either side of the bed, and then continued their kissing battle. Kate quickly grabbed Princeton's tight undershirt and tried to pull it off, lustfully needing to feel his muscular chest. Princeton broke the kiss and helped pull it off. Once it was discarded to the side of the bed Princeton preceded to lie on Kate and kiss her again, hugging her and holding her body close to his. Kate continued to enjoy this and started rubbing her hands on his back, hoping this would excite him more.

It did, and Princeton moved his lips from hers and slowly began kissing under her left ear. It was then suddenly Kate felt a surprise jolt of an unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling. Not physically, but even worse, emotionally. Kate opened her eyes and saw the ceiling above her. But then she looked down, still feeling the tingly sensations of Princeton's lips on her neck. She saw Princeton's bare back. Her stomach felt sick. She thought of how the only thing between their naked upper bodies was her bra, which would probably be the next thing to go. Something didn't feel right. They had only been back together for a week. Were they actually going to have sex tonight? Did they even know how the other person felt first before going off and doing this again? Maybe it was just the atmosphere from the magical effects of the city, or maybe the romantic feeling of the restaurant. Whatever started it, Kate knew she couldn't let this go on. Not now at least.

"Princeton, I can't do this," Kate said bluntly. "I can't have sex with you."

Kate felt Princeton stop the kissing and he moved his head away to look into her eyes.

"What? Why?" he asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No…" Kate said. She rolled away and sat up on the edge of the bed. She continued, looking away from him. "I just feel like we're rushing this. I mean, we said we would take this one day at a time, and that's not what we're doing. I don't even know how you feel about me right now. It just doesn't feel right."

"Well, Kate, I can tell you how I feel," Princeton said, trying to be reassuring.

"No… I mean, not yet. I just think we need a little more time to explore how we feel about each other. We should do it when we're really sure, or else we're going to regret it."

Princeton thought about it, and he finally saw she was right.

"I'm sorry if this ruined the evening," Kate tried to apologies.

"No, it's cool," Princeton said. He sat up behind her and gently hugged his arms around her shoulders, trying to not get too close. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Kate said, smiling. "You don't have to leave if you don't want to. You can sleep over if you'd like."

"What are we in high school all of a sudden?"

They had a good laugh and slept peacefully after the lights went out.

"But I wasn't able to prove myself that night," Princeton continued. "I was so embarrassed I didn't even try anything after that."

"Huh," George commented. "You didn't tell me before that you two separated."

"Yeah, it was literally right after we started dating, and it was my fault mostly. We worked it out."

"When did you start having-"

"A month later," Princeton interrupted his father again, knowing what he was going to ask, "around the holidays."

"I see I see, very romantic," George said.

Princeton felt a little awkward with George's response. Silence ensued the two men for a long minute, neither saying anything else.

"Princeton," George finally continued, "are you sure that your separation was mostly your fault?"

Princeton frowned, wondering what on earth this had to do with anything. "Yeah, why?"

"How exactly was it your fault?"

"It's really stupid. I said I couldn't be with her because I didn't want to make any commitments until I found my purpose in life. I know I wasn't fair to her, but like I said we worked it out. Dad, is this topic necessary?"

"Princeton, don't think I'm pointing fingers at you or anything. I'm just trying to figure out what you think may be going on between the two of you."

"I know, Dad." Princeton said as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Can I ask you something, son?" George asked.

"Alright."

"Have you two ever talked about getting married?"

Princeton's mouth went dry. The truth was, he had thought about marriage on a few small occasions. A few times when he would see how happy Kate was during that moment, or whenever they were just lying together, not saying anything. He would think for a while about what it might be like to spend the rest of his life with her. But he had never talked about it with Kate. Not yet at least.

"Well, I never mentioned anything about it. Kate never said anything either."

"Do you have any clue why she never asked you about it?"

"Well, no. Maybe it never crossed her mind, right?"

"I think it may be because she's afraid."

Princeton didn't believe him. In fact he laughed a little at his father's comment.

"Afraid?" he asked. "Afraid of what? I told you things have gone really well-"

"I think she's afraid of being hurt by you."

Princeton frowned. "Hurt by me? What are you talking about? Dad I'm not abusive to her, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't mean physically, I mean emotionally. Princeton, think about it. You broke up with her because you had a fear of commitment to her, and then it still took her quite a while to warm up to you once you got back together… If she never talked you about getting married, or about where your relationship is going, then maybe it's because she's afraid of how you'll react. Does that sound right to you?"

Princeton was almost speechless. He never thought about this logic, but now that he heard it, he wasn't sure what to think. In a way it made a lot of sense, but he also didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to think that Kate might actually be hiding this from him. He could almost see why though. If he never said anything to her, that could have been why she never said anything to him either. It never seemed to matter to him, but if they never talked about where their relationship was going, was it really possible that he was hurting her on some level?

"I don't know," Princeton replied. He didn't know what else to say.

"Princeton," George continued, "if Kate asked you today whether or not you wanted to marry her, what would you say?"

Princeton quickly looked at his dad, but then he looked away at his own feet. This time, he really didn't know what to say.

Kate and Adel had just entered the front door with a few groceries and, of course, Adel's wedding dress. Adel was the one carrying two grocery bags in both arms, and Kate carried the dress as carefully as possible, as if it where the most delicate piece of glass in the world.

"Could you please just hang my dress somewhere on the stairwell?" Adel asked.

"Of course," Kate said, finding a place where the dress could hang and barely touch ground.

"Just stay here for a minute. I'm going to put these groceries in the fridge."

"Alright."

Adel quickly left the room, leaving Kate alone in the front hallway.

Not quite knowing what else to do while she waited, Kate stared at Adel's wedding dress again. She looked at it and knew it was one of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen in her life. Even though it was covered in plastic, she softly touched the front, hoping she would have one of her own someday.

"Adel, thank God you're finally here-" Janet said with an annoyed tone as she entered the front hall.

When Kate realized who was in the room with her, she quickly took her hand away from the dress as if she had just touched fire.

"Oh, it's you," Janet said.

Kate could hear the disgust in Janet's voice. She didn't say anything, fearing that whatever she said would lead to something drastic.

"Good afternoon, Janet," Kate said softly. That was all she could think to say to break the tension.

"Hey Mommy," Adel said happily as she entered the hall. "What's up?"

Janet rolled her eyes at her daughter and let out a very annoyed sigh.

"Where on Earth have you been?!" Janet asked rather harshly. "Do you realize your wedding rehearsal is scheduled to start in twenty minutes?"

"Yeah, I know," Adel said calmly, "that's why I'm here now, right?"

"How could you just go off like that without letting me know?"

"Mom, calm down, Charles and the Pastor aren't going anywhere."

"Well, if you want any chance of getting married tomorrow, we had better leave now."

"Yeah yeah yeah…"

Janet quickly grabbed her purse on the table and exited the front door, without even acknowledging or looking at Kate. Kate shook her head, knowing Janet was trying to ignore her.

"Kate, are you coming?" Adel asked, turning to her furry friend.

"Actually, Adel," Kate replied right before her body forced a yawn, "I'm a little tired. I think I'm going to stay here and take a nap."

"That's totally fine! Just be awake for the rehearsal party, k-k?"

"I will, don't worry."

"Later sweetie!"

Adel exited out the front door, following in the direction of her mother. As soon as she left Kate yawned again, just proving how tired she was. She knew it must have been from getting up way too early that morning. Kate drank a quick glass of water in the kitchen before making her way back to the office where her bed was waiting for her. She let herself fall on the comfortable mattress and soft sheets. She didn't even bother to get under the covers; it was too warm for that.

For a minute she thought of Princeton. After her talk with Adel earlier she had been wondering what would become of their relationship once the trip was over. But those thoughts were short because Kate fell asleep only minutes after she lay down.

A few hours later, Kate opened her eyes to find Princeton's eyes looking straight into hers. She quickly realized that he was lying down right next to her. Kate was about to say something but he beat her when he placed his finger on his mouth, shushing her. She didn't say anything as he requested.

"I heard my sister kidnapped you today," Princeton said just above a whisper.

"Kidnapped? Is that what you call it?" Kate whispered back. "Shouldn't you be at the wedding rehearsal?"

"Oh, I told my dad I wasn't really interested in going," Princeton said as he winked at her. "He let me stay pretty easily. Besides, it's not like I have a big part in the ceremony. I'm not missing anything."

Kate nodded and smiled.

"How was Adel?" Princeton asked,

"She was alright," Kate said. "Actually, we had a pretty good time."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, but I have to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"Seriously, what the hell is she on?!"

Princeton laughed at Kate's sarcastic comment.

"Something invisible to the naked eye," he replied, "God knows."

"So, what did you do while I was out today?"

"Oh, well, hung out with my dad for a bit. We bought a wedding cake." Princeton knew he couldn't tell her what they talked about yet.

"Really? Mr. I-don't-like-my-parents?" Kate asked.

"Shut up," Princeton said as he turned on his back and looked up at the ceiling.

Kate loved how cute he was when he was frustrated. Princeton was really trying so hard, she could tell.

"Everyone's pointing that out today," Princeton continued.

"Pointing what out?" Kate asked,

"That I'm doing stuff no one expects me to do."

"Yeah, but you know I only tease you like that because I love you, right?"

Kate moved her hand so it was now stroking Princeton's arm, warming up to him.

"Yeah, I know," Princeton said as he turned back to her and linked his fingers with hers.

Kate's smile went away as she looked at Princeton's sweet face. She felt her heart ache a little. She couldn't believe she was letting all this get to her, but the thought of it made her want Princeton even more.

"You okay, Kate?" Princeton asked, noticing her somewhat sad expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kate said, a little lost.

She didn't want to think about him going away from her. She probably had to ask him about their relationship, but she didn't want to now. She couldn't bare the thought of it.

Kate leaned in to kiss him. Princeton saw what she was doing. He wanted it too. In truth he had longed to be closer to her all day. Since he talked to his dad, he really didn't want Kate to feel rejected or unloved in anyway at all. That's probably why he said he didn't want to go to the wedding rehearsal, so he could make sure that wouldn't happen.

As soon as he felt Kate press her lips to his, Princeton quickly kissed her back. He parted from her sweet lips and tried talking to her.

"Kate, I-"

He stopped suddenly when they felt a vibrating sensation come from between them, startling them both a little.

"Oh my God," Kate said as she turned away. She covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. She knew what they both felt.

"God, sorry," Princeton said sheepishly as he took his vibrating cell phone out of his pocket. "Hello?... Oh, hi!... Yeah hold on she's right here. For you."

Princeton handed the phone in Kate's direction. Kate took it from behind her.

"Hello?" she replied as she put the phone to her ear.

"KAAATTTE!!" Becky's voice screeched on the other line.

"Becky? Is everything okay?"

"Kate, I think I did something wrong! I washed your sheets like you asked me to, but when the laundry was done your white sheets came out pink!"

"They what?!" Kate asked in disbelief. She sat up and pinched her temple in annoyance. "Becky is there anything else in there with the sheets?"

"What? Well, I washed my red shirt in here with them. I thought I'd save some money. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, do you think that maybe that's why the sheets got pink? Because the red shirt was in there with them?" Kate asked sarcastically, seeming obvious.

"Uh, no," Becky answered. "My shirt is red and your sheets are pink. There's a big difference iin the colors, Kate. Duh."

Kate couldn't believe it, Becky was serious, and she didn't even hear Kate's sarcasm.

"Kate," Becky continued, "I don't know what happened, but I feel responsible. I'll pay for some new sheets."

"God, don't worry about it," Kate replied, "we'll work it out when we get back."

"Alright. I'll do the rest of your chores too-"

"You know what, that's okay. Just leave everything where it is and I'll do it when I get home. I'll promise I'll still pay you when I get back,"

"Really? Wow, thanks Kate Monster that's so nice of you!"

Once Kate finally got off the phone with Becky, she half tossed the phone in Princeton's direction and lay on bed with a frustrated sigh. Princeton watched Kate stare at the ceiling with a very annoyed look on her face.

"Sheets are ruined?" Princeton asked.

"Just pink," Kate said with a huff.

"Don't worry we can afford it. We'll get some new ones," Princeton said as he lay next to her, but with his head hovering over hers.

"That reminds me," Kate replied, "When are you going to start working again?"

"When I get hired by someone."

"Well, start working already!" Kate playfully pushed him in the chest.

"I will, when someone decides to hire me!" Princeton quickly lay his body on Kate's and started kissing her.

"Princeton!" Kate whispered as she tried to get away, thinking for a minute that this wasn't very appropriate since his parents might be in the house

But Princeton was more persistent. He continued to kiss her and only a few seconds later Kate started kissing him back. She wrapped her arms around Princeton's neck and made the kiss as deep and passionate as possible. She really needed this from him right now.

"Are your parents home right now?" Kate asked quietly.

"Don't think so, " Princeton said.

Kate left it at that and continued to kiss him. Ever since she talked with Adel earlier, all morning she wanted to be in Princeton's embrace.

She felt Princeton's hand lower and begin to massage her inner thy. She wanted this so badly. She didn't need sex or anything, she just wanted to be as close as possible for now.

They continued their simple foreplay for a short while, and everything was just fine until they heard something that made them both jerk with fear.

"Kate, I need to come in," Adel's voice whispered as she came into the room.

"Holy shit!" Princeton said as he got off Kate as quickly as possible. Kate also jumped up and adjusted her skirt without even thinking of who it could be that entered the room.

Adel's eyes widened at what she just saw. She stopped and didn't say anything, waiting for one of them to explain themselves.

"Adel," Princeton said as he smoothed his hair, "this is Kate's room right now. You're supposed to knock."

"Sorry 'bout that little bro," Adel said, "but I need to use this room to hang my wedding dress in. Charles is going to be here any minute and I don't want him to see it."

As Adel hung her wedding dress in the closet nearby, Kate and Princeton gave each other relieved looks.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Adel asked when she noticed them. "Did you think I was Mom or something?"

Neither Kate nor Princeton answered her. It was kind of obvious. Princeton uneasily sat on the bed.

"Don't worry," Adel continued, "they haven't come back yet. Jeez, you two just can't keep your hands off each other for a minute can you?" Adel smiled, trying to joke around.

"We didn't think anyone was home," Kate said innocently, "sorry."

"I thought you would have learned your lesson by now, Princeton..." Adel half scolded, "You should know better after what happened before… and you know I don't just mean about last night, I'm talking about that girl from your senior prom night, remember? You need to watch out for yourself."

"Adel…" Princeton grunted.

Kate frowned at Adel's comment and Princeton's reaction.

"Princeton I'm serious. If Mom catches you one more time doing anything like that again, you're never going to hear the end of it. When Mom found you fooling with that girl, I thought she was going to have a heart attack. I think last night was your second strike."

"Adel," Princeton said again, this time more aggressive. It was obvious he was embarrassed and wanted her to stop.

"I'm only trying to protect you, little bro. You know how Mom is. Take it from me. Whenever I do it, at least I make sure that I'm far away from her and that there's no way she could find out."

"Alright, Adel, we get it!" Princeton said, his tone a little louder than before.

Kate questioned to herself why Princeton was reacting the way he was. And further more, who on earth was Adel talking about? Who was this girl from his senior prom night? She couldn't help but suddenly feel like she was lied to.

"Alright, fine," Adel said, ending it. "Just watch yourself. Don't get caught, k?"

Adel left the room, leaving the couple alone. As soon as Adel was gone, Kate moved herself so she was now in front of Princeton and standing over him.

"Princeton, what is Adel talking about?" Kate asked with a rather strict voice.

"What?" Princeton asked.

"Who's this girl you were fooling around with? I've never heard of her before."

Princeton blinked a few times, hesitant to answer.

"Kate, it's not a big deal," he said. "She and I-"

"Were you two together or something?"

"No, it's not like that."

"Then why haven't I heard of her?"

Princeton opened his mouth to say something but the words didn't come out.

"Princeton," Kate said as she looked at the door, making sure no one was close by, "I thought you said you had never been with anyone before me. Did Adel just say you were with someone before you even went to college?"

Princeton frowned at his girlfriend.

"Kate," he said, "why are you treating me like I'm a criminal?"

"Did you lie to me?" Kate said, ignoring his question.

"I told you it wasn't like that!"

"Is that what you do to get people to sleep with you? Telling them that you're a virgin and making them feel sorry for you?"

"Of course not! Kate, you're not even listening to me!"

"It seems pretty clear to me, Princeton! You were with someone else before me! You lied to me, so why should I listen to you?"

Princeton frowned at his girlfriend again. He felt angry that he was being accused. He clenched his fist in frustration. This wasn't the first time she had blamed him like this, after he was fired from jobs or out too late. She hardly ever gave him the chance to explain himself. He always said sorry and took responsibility after she was done yelling at him, but this was the last straw. Princeton suddenly felt it was time to put an end to her getting in his way and trying to control him. He knew he didn't feel that way about it before, but the way he felt right now, maybe that's how it really was all along.

"You know what Kate," Princeton said as he stood up, "I don't know why I've put up with this up until now, but I am so sick of you putting me on the spot. I don't need to take this crap from you if you're never going to listen to me or hear me out!"

Princeton quickly walked passed Kate and exited the room. Kate was a little stunned from his reaction and blinked, but she immediately let her pride get the better of her. She followed him out the room and watched as he quickly passed Adel and walked down the hall to the staircase.

"Oh yeah?" Kate replied, making sure Princeton heard her, "well… try not to fuck anyone on the way up the stairs!"

Kate knew that was weak, but it was the first thing she could think to say to get back at him out of anger. She watched Princeton run up the stairs and heard him slam his bedroom door. A part of her was hurt after watching him walk away from her, but she was also angry that he lied to her.

Adel was still standing in the hallway. After watching Princeton walk off, she turned to Kate with a concerned look. Kate sighed deeply, trying to calm herself in front of her new friend.

"Is everything okay?" Adel asked. "What happened?"

Kate shook her head and avoided eye contact with her. She walked out of the room and headed for the backyard. Adel was ready to go after her, but she got distracted when the doorbell rang.

"Oh my God, the very first guests for the party are here!" she cried out with happiness, quickly changing her mood.

Kate exited the back door and walked out into the middle of the yard. She examined her surroundings. The trees, the fresh cut grass, the flowers… Even though she was surrounded by beauty, she felt an overwhelming sense of being completely out of place. Kate covered her mouth with her hand and felt herself choke, her body ready to let out tears. She didn't want Princeton's past relationship or this fight to be real.

She thought, _Maybe this could just be a big fight and we'll work it out. Maybe we'll get over it and forgive each other._

But then Kate remembered that Princeton lied to her, and that only made her angry all over again. What if this was already the end?

"Stupid Princeton," Kate said out loud. "Stupid, Stupid Princeton!"

A/N: Hey everyone! Well, again, I'm very sorry this chapter took forever to finish and post. I warned everyone that I'm busy, and this summer has been very eventful and busy for me. I'm back at school now, so I'm hoping to get more time to write and finish the next couple of chapters.

I want everyone to know that even though it takes me a while to finish chapters, I am very determined to write and finish this fanfic. I do not plan to end up writing and then suddenly dropping it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because there is still a lot more to come. Thank you for reading and please continue to do so!


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